Pizza-death suspects get their order: Trial

BY MENSAH M. DEAN, deanm@phillynews.com 215-854-5949

Posted: February 09, 2012

THREE defendants accused of killing a pizza-deliveryman after luring him to a vacant rowhouse in Southwest Philadelphia waived their rights to preliminary hearings yesterday and were ordered held for trial.

A fourth defendant in the case, Xylaca Devlin, 18, of Southwest Philadelphia, waived her preliminary hearing Jan. 25 and was held on murder and related charges.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys now can begin preparing for the joint trial of Devlin and her co-defendants: Keyona Jones, 18, of Camden County; and Rashad Cheeseboro, 23, and Michael Covington, 21, both of Southwest Philadelphia.

Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni held Cheeseboro, Covington and Jones for trial on conspiracy, robbery and handgun counts. In addition, she held Cheeseboro and Jones for second-degree murder and Covington for "murder general," meaning that the jury could find him guilty of first-degree murder or of a lesser degree of murder.

Police said that on Jan. 3, the defendants called in an order of pizza, hot wings and cheesesteaks from Hot Spot Pizza in Southwest Philadelphia and ambushed driver Ronald Anderson Jr. in Elmwood when he got out of his car with the food.

A gunman shot him in the back, and the defendants fled with the food but took no money, police said.